A Trip Through Diagon Alley
by hermyownninny8988
Summary: Albus Severus Potter is anxious about getting his first wand and his very own owl, and going to Hogwarts in general. But it is hard to stay calm with Weasley twin worthy pranks, and a mischievous friend. It starts out pretty humorous, but turn darker...
1. In Which James Gets In Trouble

Boom!

"What was that explosion?" asked Harry.

"It came from James' room!" answered Albus as he peeked his head out of his room to make sure no debris had escaped his brother's room and scurried across the hall to James' room.

"Figures." And with a roll of the eyes, Harry marched up the stairs to see what kind of trouble James had caused.

"So what's the damage?" I don't know dad. He won't open the door."

"Come on James, it can't be worse than the rat spleens on fire experiment you pulled last month," Harry said as he sighed and looked up at the unmistakably obvious red splat on the ceiling.

"Hey, where is everybody?" Ginny called. Albus and Harry had been too preoccupied with the situation at hand and didn't notice her arrive home.

"We're upstairs, honey. James-"

Harry was drowned out by Albus' non-understandable gibberish of, "Mum mum mum mum! ."

"Slower please," demanded Ginny.

Out of breath from his rant, Albus took a deep breath and explained what he just said to his mother with over-exaggerated slowness, "James. Locked. Himself. In. His. Room. Because. He. Did. Something. Really. Really. Bad."

"I see," responded Ginny as she produced her wand from her coat pocket and pointed it at the door, "James, you better unlock this door right this instant or I will do it for you. And if I do that, there is no way that you are ever getting that new racing broom." Harry shuddered as he remembered the Howler Ginny's mother sent Ron in their second year. Harry could tell that Ginny had inherited her mother's temper.

"Fine, fine, fine! I'm opening the door, but promise you'll let me explain before you jump to conclusions," pleaded James. As the doorknob clicked, everyone braced himself for the worst and walked cautiously into James' room. But to everyone's surprise, there was no evidence of disaster to be found. By no means was James' room clean as there was still the usual stench of dirty clothes and past experiments gone wrong.

"James, not that we're not happy to see no obvious damage, but what did you do?" questioned Harry. This puzzled even Albus who understood his brother more than anyone. James could do a lot worse and was never afraid to open the door to his parents.

"Mom, you remember those earrings you gave Lily last month?" asked James.

"Yes, I believe so."

"Well, I was bored and went into Lily's room to bother her but I had forgotten she was at her friends'. But when I was there, I found a "Make Your Own Chocolate Bar" kit. Well, I sorta took it," James explained.

"First, James you shouldn't steal from your little sister. She's only nine. And second, how do my earrings tie into this?" demanded James' mother.

"I'm getting to that. So I opened up the box to make sure Lily hadn't already used it and I realized that the mold for the chocolate looked like a gold bar. A gold bar is so much cooler than chocolate so I grabbed something gold and ran off to my room. I dropped the jewelry into the pot and turned up the heat to try and melt it down. And then I saw the card that had been attached to the earrings. It was from Mom telling Lily these were her earrings that she wore to the Yule Ball in her 4th year. By that time it was too late to save them." James stated as he held up a deformed piece of gold.

"James!" Ginny said accusingly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I thought they were just another of Lily's girly stuff." James said defensively.

Harry said comfortingly, "Honey I'm sorry. I knew how much those meant to you."

"It's okay, Dean Thomas gave them to me, but we obviously broke up ages ago," Ginny explained.

"So, I'm not in trouble?" James asked hopefully.

"Just clean up the mess and we'll see," Ginny said. Ginny and Harry turned their backs to go downstairs as James pulled out his wand.

As if they had eyes on the back of their head, Ginny and Harry said simultaneously, "By hand."

James groaned, "Do they really enforce the Statue of Secrecy anymore?"

Ginny said, "Just ask your father, he had a hearing before the Wizengamot."

"You know full well that the Patronus Charm was necessary and it was only before the Wizengamot because it was me." Harry said.

"Shh, what James doesn't know won't hurt him." Ginny whispered with a smirk across her face as she turned around to check if James had heard what his father had said. Just as Harry laid a foot on the ground floor of the house, yet another boom was heard.

"What happened now?" yelled Ginny.

"I let Albus wave around my wand and he broke my toy car! Make him replace it!" James called back.

"Maybe now you'll learn something about destruction of property," Ginny said matter-of-factly and with that she pulled on her coat and left, slamming the door behind her.

"Albus, James, that reminds me, we have to go buy your new school supplies, your letters came this morning." Harry said.

"Our letters came and you didn't tell us?" complained James.

"Someone was too busy making trouble and forgot to check the mail," said Harry.

"Oops, sorry Dad." Harry handed each of them their official Hogwarts letter emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest depicting the four houses.

"Can I have an owl?" asked Albus.

"We'll see," answered Harry.

"I'm getting a wand for sure! Finally, I get my very own wand!" called Albus. "Can we ask Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron to come too?"

"Of course, I'm sure they need new school books too."

"That makes it official, tomorrow we go to Diagon Alley!"


	2. The Usual Chaos

"Dad!" screeched James. Harry flinched at his son's cries. He had just sat down after a long night's work at the ministry. The auror office had their hands full with that madman who claimed he was Voldemort. It would have been a laughable matter, especially for Harry, if the nutcase hadn't been extremely skilled at magic. It took them half the night to track the man down and the rest to deal with the muggles who had witnessed the crazy man's rampage. Since most of the auror office was on leave, it left only Harry, Luna, and the new intern, Shipley to make sense of the chaos. But this sort of situation was far too dangerous for an intern so the task at hand was left to Harry and Luna. But just after they sent the man away, Luna collapsed and fell against a broom closet. Luna claimed she was fine, but Harry knew she was far from fine and sent her home leaving him to clean up after the madman. After countless memory charms, Harry returned home after the sun had risen hoping for a peaceful morning, but instead he was greeted with the shriek of, "Dad!"

Reluctantly Harry answered, "What, Son?"

"I was only wondering whether you have seen my other blue sock?"

"No"

"Oh, ok. I'll go ask lily," said Albus.

"Lily's up already?" inquired Harry incredulously. Lily was a notorious late sleeper and for her to be up at this hour was a rare occasion.

"Yeah, she wanted to sleep longer, but mom forced her up."

"Your mother, Ginny woke her up?" asked Harry who was yet again surprised by the sudden change in behavior by his family. Although Harry wanted to teach his children punctuality, Ginny felt otherwise and Harry had learned not to argue with a Weasley. Harry had made Mrs. Weasley very mad before and Ginny had picked up her mother's temper.

"Yeah, Lily wasn't too happy, but when mum reminded her that Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron were coming with Rose and Hugo today," said Albus.

"Why are Rose and Hugo coming?" asked Harry.

"Remember, we invited them to go to Diagon Alley with us!" answered Albus as he check under the couch for his sock. Harry groaned. He had totally forgotten that he promised to take everyone to Diagon Alley, but he couldn't back out now. Albus had been obsessing over getting a wand all summer; it would be cruel to take back his word. Harry sighed and sauntered up the stairs to freshen up before Ron and Hermione arrived. As he approached the bathroom, Harry was greeted yet another time by shrieks.

"It's my sock!"

"No it's mine!"

"Kids, stop fighting!" yelled Ginny from the kitchen.

"Fine, take the sock," said Lily. Albus held out his hand with a smug look across his face.

"But don't come crying back to me when you get made fun of because you have girly socks." Lily said as she turned around to face the mirror to finish her hair. Lily's last remark caught Albus' attention.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing," replied Lily nonchalantly.

"Tell Me." said Albus.

"It's just that that sock you just took from me is bright blue," said lily

"So?" questioned Albus.

"Don't you read Teen Witch?"

"Uh, no!"

"I guess I have to spell it out for you," sighed Lily, "Bright blue is so in for teen witches now. If you wear those socks everyone will make fun of you for wearing girly stuff, and you don't want that do you?"

"Here! Take the sock," James exclaimed as he threw it at his sister as if it were on fire and stormed out of the room. As the bathroom was beside Lily's room, Harry overheard this exchange between Lily and Albus. Lily had inherited Fred and George's cunning. A tear formed in Harry's eye as he remembered the times that he, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George eavesdropped on the Order of the Phoenix meetings. Harry splashed some water on his face and dried off with that ugly maroon colored towel that Ginny insisted on buying and walked downstairs. As Harry lowered himself into an armchair, the doorbell sounded.

"Honey, could you get that," asked Ginny. Harry rose, put a fake smile across his face and opened the front door to greet the guests. Harry's fake smile soon turned to a real one as he welcomed his two best friends, Ron and Hermione.

"Hey, mate," said Ron as he gave Harry a playful punch in the arm. Harry gave one back in response as he yelled, "Kids, come down, everyone's here!" Albus and Lily were down as fast as their little feet could take them. Lily ran down the stairs right into Rose's open arms. Rose was the big sister Lily never had and she took the title very seriously. No matter how trivial Lily's problems and questions were, rose always sat and answered them and never acted as if she was too good for a 9 year old.

"Where's James?" exclaimed Hugo. James on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Rose. Hugo loved to tag along with James, but James would always try to lose him.

"I haven't seen him all morning," said Harry.

"Oh dear god, please tell me he's not causing more trouble!" pleaded Ginny, "He already ruined my favorite earrings yesterday."

"How on Earth did he do that?" asked Hermione.

"It's a long story," said Harry.

Albus ran down the stairs and exclaimed," James isn't anywhere in the house!"

"I'll go check the yard," volunteered Lily as she exited out the back door.

"He's out here!" cried Lily. Everyone rushed out the back door to see what James was doing. James was lying under a half collapsed structure of bed sheets and large sticks.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" exclaimed Ron. The sudden outburst woke James up suddenly and he jolted up.

"Well, Um..."

"Explain, now," said Ginny sternly.

Frightened by his mother James started to explain, "Well, in my broomstick magazine, there was a bit about what muggles do for fun. They do this thing called camping. Grandpa would know about it. It's where you sleep in a tent in the woods. I decided to try it and build my own tent."

Ginny looked relieved that it wasn't anything more than curiosity and just said, "Clean it up and go put on some clean clothes, you're filthy." Albus gave a little snort and walked back inside with the others. By the time James changed his clothes and came down, the crowd was getting impatient.

"Come on over the fireplace. Everyone's waiting for us at Dagon Alley!" said Hermione.

"Oh, I thought it was just us going today," said Ginny.

"Oh I'm sorry I forgot to mention I invited your mum and dad, Bill and Fleur and their kids, Percy and Audrey and Molly and Lucy of course, George and Angelina and the twins, and Teddy. You can't forget Teddy."

"Is that all?" said Ron sarcastically. When Hermione shot him a look he wiped his smirk off his face.

"We better be off then!" One by one each person took a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace, threw the powder down and went up in green flames. Harry was the last to go and when he shouted his destination, he took care to say it clearly.


	3. Finally!

"What if he got off in the next grate over?" exclaimed Albus as he threw his hands in the air with impatience and groaned, "It's been 3 hours!" A few people turned and gave their party a strange look. No one in the party paid much attention as they had always gotten incredulous looks because of Harry.

"Well, you're off by a smidge, in exactly 10 second it will have been 20 seconds!" said James sarcastically while imitating Albus' extravagant gestures.

"Stop it! You're embarrassing me!" whispered Lily as she hunched herself over as though to hide from the wandering eyes of bystanders.

"Embarrassed? You should be grateful that you are surrounded by people of such high social status!" said James in an intentionally loud voice.

"What social status?" remarked Lily matter of fatly with her hands on her hips? After this comment, Albus couldn't control himself and burst out laughing despite his impatience. Just as he was recovering from his laughing fit, Harry stepped out of the Diagon Alley grate. Albus snapped suddenly out of joking mode and back into his obsession mode.

"What took you so long?" exclaimed Albus literally shaking with anxiety.

"I was ready to come when I realized I forgot my Gringotts key. So I had to fetch it or else I wouldn't be able to pay for anything including wands," explained Harry.

"Fair enough, fair enough." said Albus, "We better get going!" Albus took his father by the arm and yanked him in the direction of Ollivander's. Albus, giddy and shaking with anxiety, approached Ollivander's with caution. This fateful day had finally arrived. The day when Albus would receive the wand he would hold for the rest of his life. (Unless he broke his wand like Ron and Harry did) As he slowly pulled the flaking blue grey painted door open, an endless stream of worries and what ifs penetrated Albus' mind. "What if he couldn't find a wand right for him? What if he was the first wizard Mr. Ollivander didn't have is wand for? What if he ruined the Ollivander name forever?" Albus sauntered into the barely lit damp room stacked from floor to ceiling with seemingly identical blue and brown boxes. No one appeared to be present except for Albus and his father so Albus decided to take a look around, not tile there was much to see. As he was scanning a shelf lined with boxes of wands, Albus was taken aback as Mr. Ollivander had materialized not a foot length behind him.

"I was expecting you soon enough."

Albus had not a clue as to how to respond to such statement so he looked to his feet and stammered.

"It seems only yesterday that your father and grandfather were here buying their first wand."

James recalled Harry telling him that Mr. Ollivander had said the exact same phrase when he came to choose a wand, or rather have a wand choose him. Albus, although the thought of being alone with Mr. Ollivander was unnerving, he needed to do this alone and signaled for his father to leave. Harry took one last look at Albus and stepped out the door. Neither Albus nor Mr. Ollivander said a word for an awkward 30 seconds. At last, Albus broke the silence, "So... I'm here to choose a wand." The second these words left his lips, he regretted the even the thought.

"Ah, quite the contrary, Mr. Potter. It is not the wizard who chooses the wand, but the wand that chooses the wizard." Mr. Ollivander stared at Albus for a few uncomfortable seconds and then suddenly jumped up and grabbed a seemingly random box of a shelf. He thrust it at Albus and exclaimed, "Well, go on. Wave it about!"

Albus gave an exaggerated wand flourish and immediately he saw results. Maybe not the results he would prefer, but results indeed. The wilting flower in the flowerpot that was probably from the middle ages exploded and shattered, sending the caked dirt flying. A large chunk landed on Mr. Ollivander, but as he terrified Albus decided not to tell him. Albus' worst fears were true: There was never going to be a perfect wand for him. Albus sighed heavily.

As though he had read Albus' mind, Mr. Ollivander exclaimed, "M'boy, you can't think after one trial that all hopes have gone!" Albus' spirits were lifted temporarily, but he still had some doubts. Mr. Ollivander grabbed one box after another and laid them in front of Albus and signaled him to test each one. After what felt like hours, but really only 20 minutes, Albus had given up all hope. There were only 2 boxes left and what were the chances one of those would be the one? Albus snatched the one to his left and gave it a carefree wave. Suddenly Albus' eyes widened, goose bumps became apparent on his forearms, and the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. Instinctively, Albus knew this was the one.

"I see you've met your match. Elm 9in, flexible." Albus' feared worst fate had been lifted. He had a wand! Albus hastily counted out 8 galleons and laid them on the table and hurried out to show off his very own wand. He ran across the cobblestone path where his father was standing admiring the newest racing broom. Harry tore his eyes away the Quality Quidditch Supplies display window and held out his arms for his son.

"Dad! Dad! Dad! Look, my wand!"

"I see!" Albus was grinning from ear to ear.

"My little boy is growing up."

"Dad!" Albus said in a hushed voice.

Harry chuckled in response.

"Albus!" A short red haired boy advanced toward the pair.

Harry obviously had no idea who the child, but Albus seemed to.

"Hey, Oliver. Fancy seeing you here."

"Well, half of Hogwarts is here purchasing school supplies," replied Oliver.

"Oh! I almost forgot you were going to Hogwarts too!" exclaimed Albus.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your little friend?" asked Harry. Albus was slightly annoyed by his father's choice of words but answered nevertheless.

"Dad, this is Oliver. His sister is Lily's friend."

"Hey, Albus. I still have to go to the apothecary, but after that I have some pocket money to spend at the joke shop. Want to come?" asked Oliver.

"Yeah! I'd love to! I need to pick up some powdered snake fang too." Albus looked to his father and asked, " Can I, Dad?"

"I guess that would be okay."

Harry thought to himself, "This was supposed to be a family trip, but Albus needed to make some friends. But on the other hand, he would have the whole school year to hang out with Oliver." As Harry turned around to stop Albus from going, the pair were nowhere to be seen and Harry just looked like a fool staring into space. He sighed and headed for Flourish and Blotts where Ginny was purchasing the children's new textbooks. Harry pushed open the door and was instantly greeted by a crowd of people. Ginny fought her way to the front and tried to make herself heard over the indistinct chattering.

"Let me see it! Let me see it!" she yelled.

For a split-second Harry didn't realise what his wife was talking about and then it hit him.

"Albus has it," Harry yelled back.

"Where's Albus?" Ginny called.

"He went to the joke shop with Oliver."

"He went where with who?" screamed Ginny."

"This isn't working," murmured Harry as he motioned for Ginny to follow him outside. As soon as they escaped the madness inside Flourish and Blotts, Ginny caught her breath and asked again, "Where is Albus?"

"He went to the joke shop," answered Harry.

"No he's not. He's right there." Ginny said as she pointed at Albus walking towards them. Harry's heart lifted. He had come back!

"Hey, Dad! I forgot, can I have my pocket money for the week?" called Albus. Harry's heart sank faster than it had risen.

"He wasn't here to spend time with family. He just wanted money."

Reluctantly Harry reached into his pant pocket and produced a velvet sack. He pulled a few galleons out and handed them to his son whose face immediately lit up.

"Thanks, dad!" As he ran back to the Apothecary, he called, "Oh yeah! I got a wand!" And with that, he disappeared around the corner. Harry managed a meek smile.

"Come on, Honey. I still need to pay for the books," Ginny said as she walked back into Flourish and Blotts. Harry followed behind her.


	4. The Joke Shop Fiasco

Harry sighed as he pulled open the door to flourish and blotts. He was greeted by the usual chaos of the family. As humiliating as it was, it comforted Harry to know that some things never change. Harry smiled to himself as he attempted to fight his way through the predominantly redheaded crowd. Ginny immediately spotted him, as he was the only face with a distinctive lightening bolt scar. After several attempts to reach Ginny at the head of the clan, Harry gave up after being hit on the head with The Dream Oracle. He motioned for Ginny to meet him outside. They stepped onto the doorstep of the bookshop and sighed simultaneously. As much as they loved their family, they could be a handful sometimes. After savoring her first few seconds of peace in hours, Ginny asked, "Where is Albus?"

"He went to the joke shop with Oliver," said Harry obviously distracted, although Ginny didn't notice.

"No he's not!" said Ginny sharply. Harry was taken aback at this sudden change of tone. Ginny pointed towards Albus walking briskly towards the pair. As he came closer, Albus picked up the pace to jog and arrived to the questioning faces of his parents. Harry's spirits rose.

"Albus came back! He really does care!" Harry thought. He had trouble keeping his joy to himself and the struggle to look casual resulted in an awkward smile. As Albus approached, he glanced at his father in a questioning way.

"Hey, Mum, can I have some money?" Albus asked.

Harry heart sunk as fast as it had risen. Albus only wanted money. Harry sighed quite obviously, in hopes that his son would notice. Albus, however, had his eyes firmly planted on the velvet pouch that he knew the money was in. Ginny rummaged through the pouch and pulled out a large sum of money. She handed it to Albus and immediately his hand drooped under the weight of the pile of Galleons. Albus pocketed the gift wide eyed. He started off, but was stopped by his mother.

"Now, you wait just a second. That money is for all your potions supplies and James' birthday is next week and you are to buy him a gift. After that, the rest of the money is yours to use at the joke shop. Albus nodded and took off running.

"Don't make me regret giving you money!" Ginny called after Albus, but by that time Albus had disappeared around the corner.

"Hey! I got the money!" called Albus, trying to get Oliver's attention. Oliver tore himself away from the window of Zonko's.

"Brilliant! Let's hit the apothecary quickly and then Zonko's it is!" said Oliver excitedly. The two started off for the Apothecary that was just around the corner.

"I know a better joke shop, actually. Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Ever heard of it?" asked Albus.

"You've been there?" asked Oliver incredulously.

"Loads of tines! I should think so. My uncle owns it!" said Albus, his chest swelling with pride.

"Brilliant! Mum never let's me go for some reason," said Oliver.

The boys had arrived at the apothecary so they slammed open the door and bolted for the powdered snake fang in a frenzy. Albus scooped out a good mound into the provided velvet bag and plopped it onto the scale on the counter. The cashier asked for 3 galleons. Albus threw the payment and was out the door in a split second.

"Finally! You're done!" exclaimed Oliver.

Albus nodded and said, "Let's go!"

The boys made a beeline for the large, red Weasley Wizard Wheezes sign at the end of the block. Out of breath, the boys sighed heavily and gave a deviant smile at each other. Together, they pushed open the bright red door. The boy's mouths hung open in awe. Incapable of comprehensible speech, Oliver jumped around exclaiming inarticulate grunts, like a Neanderthal. Albus, however, was still incapable of speech. In front of the boys was a monument for all 11-year-old boys. 3 floors packed from ceiling to floor with the best of the best jokes. Old classics, newest inventions, muggle tricks, and Weasley Wizard Wheezes originals line the shelves. Albus darted for the classic Filibuster Fireworks whilst Oliver darted for the imported merchandise first. Albus found the skiving snack boxes. He brought his arm around the lot of them and pushed them off the shelf into his pirate he'd arm. He ran off to the next aisle leaving trail of Puking Pastilles behind him. Oliver was a bit smarter and had taken an enchanted table from the practical joke section and had his stash floating behind him. As both the boys were in a frenzy, they crashed into each other in the muggle trick section. They said a hurried, "sorry" and resumed their rampage of the store. While in a frenzy in the practical joke section, Albus literally ran into George.

"So how's the window shopping going?" said George suddenly. Albus jumped causing him to drop his skiving snack boxes.

"Very funny," said Albus sarcastically.

"Where's Ginny?" asked George.

"Buying our schoolbooks, I think," answered Albus.

"I can't believe it! Ginny let her icklealbykins out of her sight!" said George mockingly.

Albus grumbled and said, "I AM going to Hogwarts this year."

George smirked and said, "Are you really going to buy all of that?" motioning towards the boatload of merchandise in Albus' arms.

"Maybe," said Albus as he avoided looking in George's eyes.

George only laughed and said, "And you have enough galleons to pay for all of that?"

"Mum gave me a ton of money for whatever I want."

"Times have changed, times have changed, son, said George in a sarcastic philosophical voice, "That many jokes is gonna run you a 120 galleons."

Albus' eyes widened. He didn't have that kind of money! He decided he was going to play it cool and see if George would pull down the price.

"How do I know you aren't trying to cheat me?" asked Albus.

"I'm your uncle. I would never ever try to cheat my nephew," said George.

"Uncle Ron said you tried to cheat him!"

"True, true, but he's my brother."

"I don't trust you. Maybe I'll take my business elsewhere. Oliver! Let's go to Devilish and Bangs!" Albus called.

In an effort to stop Albus from leaving, George said, "Fine, fine! How about 80 galleons for the lot?"

"60"

"70"

"50" said Albus.

"Fine 50," agreed George reluctantly.

"Come on, Oliver!" called Albus.

Oliver dashed to meet Albus. He arrived holding an even bigger stash of jokes than Albus if that were even possible. Albus decided he was going to try his luck.

"You are to give Oliver the same discount too," Albus said to George.

"It's okay! I have more than enough money to pay for all of this stuff!" said Oliver, "Tell you what. I'll pay for your stuff too, Albus. It'll be an early birthday present! It can't be more than 200 galleons, right?"

Albus blushed. What could he do? Obviously he wanted free jokes, but was it immoral to take so much from a friend? Albus' first instinct was to refuse, but Oliver's face fell. He truly wanted to give Albus the gift, but what would mum say when he came back will a full pouch of money? And then it hit him. Albus still needed a gift for James' birthday! He would use all the money on a gift and Mum would be so amazed at his selflessness! Perfect plan.

"Thank you so much, Oliver! This is the best gift anyone's ever gotten me!" exclaimed Albus.

"Seriously? Wow, whoever has been buying you gifts needs to step up their game!" said Oliver incredulously.

Albus was taken aback at this remark. He had expected something like, "No problem," or "Happy early birthday!" but never had he expected such a stuck up comment. Albus chose to let it go, Oliver probably didn't mean it that way.

"So, I still need to buy my brother, James a birthday gift. "I have no idea what to get him. Do you want to come and help?" asked Albus.

"Sure! I'd be happy to pay!" offered Oliver.

Albus blushed yet again. He was afraid of that. There was no way he could accept Oliver's offer no matter how generous it was, but how could he refuse without offending Oliver? Albus decided on, "No, thanks! I really want this gift to be from me. Mum always gives the gifts. This year she gave me money 'specially to get James a gift."

"Oliver said, "Oh, okay. So where do you plan to buy the gift?"

"I have no clue!" answered Albus.

Oliver said, "So what does he like?"

"I have no clue!" answered Albus truthfully.

Oliver sighed and asked, "Do you know anything about your brother.

Albus turned red and said, "Well, he likes to blow things up..."

"You should have told me that first!" exclaimed Oliver, "I know the perfect gift."

He grinned an evil smile, started out the door, and motioned for Albus to follow.


	5. Misdemeanors and More

Oliver suddenly grabbed Albus by the arm and pulled him off his feet. Albus was taken aback at this as shakily asked," Uh, where are we going?

Oliver just said, "You'll see!"'with a devilish smile.

Albus was skeptical, but nevertheless let himself be dragged to the unknown destination. Oliver slowed down and turned a corner into a dead end dark alley crawling with rats.

Albus got an instinctive notion that Oliver was trying to kidnap him.

"Wait right there," said Oliver as he started rummaging through his cloak.

"This is it!" Albus thought, "Oliver was going to kill him! Think, Albus, Think. What could I do?"

Oliver had found what he was looking for as he stopped scrounging through his pockets and turned to Albus who receded in fear, but Oliver turned his back to the cowering Albus. He tapped the grimy brick wall with his wand. Albus, watching Oliver intently, observed that the item from Oliver's cloak was just a rock. He had heard of muggles being murdered by skull fractures because the killer had whacked them over the head, but Albus didn't think Oliver was strong enough. After Oliver tapped the wall in a complex pattern, he placed the rock in the hand of his wand arm, wound up his arm, and threw the rock as hard as he could at the moss-covered bricks. Albus was taken aback. What did Oliver expect? The wall to split apart and reveal something like at the leaky cauldron? What actually happened was quite a bit more impressive. The wall started slowly melting away until the wall was an eerie glowing green transparent state. Oliver stepped through the portal and motioned for Albus to follow. He hesitated for a second and contemplated running as far away as possible, but his curiosity overtook his common sense. With eyes clenched tight, Albus uneasily walked through the archway. A cold, wet feeling ran through his body as if he had jumped into a bucket of ice. As suddenly as it had come, the feeling left. Albus shuddered. Oliver laughed and said, "I was like that the first time too. Don't worry. You get used to it!"

The world that he had stepped into was totally unlike the magical, people-filled Diagon Alley. The cobblestone streets were covered in grime and there were a few run down shacks that seemed to be vacant. The air stank of hundreds of years of accumulated dirt. Albus felt his temper rising. How dare Oliver joke around after attempting to kidnap him!

"Sorry that I didn't tell you where we were going. It's a long story, but if I had told you where we were going before you stepped through the archway, something really bad would have happened," explained Oliver.

Albus was still skeptical of the validity of Oliver's story so he asked casually, "So tell me this long story."

"I'll tell you on the way," answered Oliver.

"Where are we going?" asked Albus sharply. Immediately Albus regretted saying anything. Thankfully, Oliver didn't catch on. He just said, "You'll see!" with a devilish smile. Albus was having second thoughts about following Oliver through the portal so he asked "Hey, it's getting late and my mom is probably worrying where I am. Can we go back?"

"Nah! We are almost there!" answered Oliver.

"Why aren't you telling me where we are going?" demanded Albus.

Oliver chuckled and said, "Fine. I'll tell you. When I was 9 my dad went to Diagon Alley with the twins.

"Wait, you have twin brothers?" questioned Albus.

"Yeah. One girl, Bethany and one boy, Carter. They're in their 4th year, but that's not the point. They went to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies. I wanted to come, but Dad said I wasn't old enough. Well, my conniving mind came up with a brilliant plan to sneak along. I took a handful of those temporary invisibility sweets and flooed to Diagon Alley after my dad had left. Since no one knew I was there, I had free reign over all of Diagon Alley. As a precocious 9 year-old, I went exploring. I took a wrong turn into the alley back there, but I saw someone in the alley. I followed him into this place and for about a mile in. When I was just about to turn back, we arrived," finished Oliver.

"Arrive where?" inquired Albus curiously.

"There," said Oliver pointing up ahead.

At the end of Oliver's finger, were a few more abandoned shops and equally as much grime, but there was one difference: people. Dressed in black cloaks pulled over their heads and always one hand on their wand, these wizards must be doing something illegal. As they pair approached the mysterious town square, Albus asked hesitantly, "Uh, Oliver, where are we?"

Oliver sighed, "You still don't know where we are?"

"Should I?" asked Albus.

Oliver sighed yet again making Albus feel like an ignorant child. He said, "You at least know what Knockturn Alley was, right?"

Albus recalled one of his father's crazy adventure stories about the place and nodded in agreement.

"Well," resumed Oliver, "after the last wizarding war, this place was raided by the ministry in search of fugitive death eaters. Obviously, they confiscated any dark magic item so any rebellion couldn't be fueled by any of these items, but laws are created to be broken. The old knockturn alley became a center for illegal going on's."

"So, a black market?" asked Albus.

"More or less," said Oliver.

As the pair approached the cluster of people in the town square, Albus grew fearful. He had tried to banish the stereotype of wizards that go to black markets from his mind, but the wizards there were the epitome of the stereotype. They all had their black cloaks pulled over their head as so their identity was concealed and kept one arm on their wand at all times. Albus trembled and did very obviously so as Oliver said, "You have nothing to worry about...as long as you keep your wand at ready."

This didn't reassure Albus at all, but nevertheless he followed Oliver. Oliver headed towards one of the many wizards in black hooded capes in a nook at the back of a corner of the square. The mysterious man seemed to recognize Oliver as he lifted head on acknowledgment.

Oliver said, "Hey, man, give me some of the you know what."

The hooded man replied, "Comin' right up."

Albus, who was shaking with fear, asked hesitantly, "Wh-what is "you know what?"

Oliver gave him the devilish smile that Albus knew all too well. The mysterious man handed over a black burlap sack and saluted Oliver. Oliver nodded and walked briskly towards the square's exit. After exiting, Oliver did not return the way hey had come. Instead, he took a sharp left into yet another dark alleyway. This was the lat straw for Albus as he refused to follow Oliver.

"No. Never. Not going to happen. I followed you to god knows where, turned a blind eye to criminal activity, and now you want me to go into yet another dark alleyway?" exclaimed Albus.

"Come on! It's only a short bit away!" urged Oliver.

"Fine. I'll make you a deal. You tell me where the hell we are going, and I will come as long as it is no more illegal than what we just did," proposed Albus.

Oliver looked squeamish as though it was worse than the black market, but Oliver didn't have anything to lose.

"Fine. We are going to this guy I know. He's something like my 8th cousin or something. It might be my 7th cousin. No, wait he is my 8th. Never mind that. He makes explosive powder. It's not illegal. It attracts more business if it seems like it is. Him and the guy I bought the pouch from, explained Oliver as he produced the burlap sack from his cloak, "have a deal. In order to use the explosive powder, you need the stuff in here to ignite it."

Albus sighed. He had been hoping that it was something illegal so he didn't have to go.

"Can't you just get it and come get me after?" pleaded Albus.

"I could, but that would be going against the deal you proposed. Plus, everyone knows me around here. You are an intruder. You are considered a threat," said Oliver.

Just then a man in a black cloak concealing his face passed by the alleyway.

"So, shouldn't we be going now?" asked Albus hastily. Oliver laughed and said, "Works every time!"

The pair progressed farther down the alleyway for what seemed like an hour. Suddenly, Oliver broke into a run. Instinctively, Albus followed in suit. "Wh-why are we running?"

Oliver ignored Albus' plea. Then, suddenly, a burst of frozen wind hit Albus' face and he was thrust into a wall. Albus fell over, while Oliver, who had recently appeared by his side, laughed and offered him a hand. Albus took his hand and hoisted himself up. Albus was capable of standing upright, but was still a bit dizzy.

Seeing Albus' inability to walk in a straight line, Oliver offered, "You can wait here if you want. I'll just be a minute."

Albus nodded and watched Oliver approach a man sitting on an abandoned shop's front steps. Unlike the black market escapade, Oliver engaged in conversation with the man who was presumably his 7th or 8th cousin. Oliver smiled and wished the man goodbye with yet another burlap sack in hand.

"Come on! We are leaving now!" exclaimed Oliver.

Albus sighed, "Finally!"

Albus followed Oliver back to the nook from which they entered hoping to bid Oliver farewell as fast as he could and meet up with the rest of the clan. The pair shuddered as they stepped through the portal back into Diagon Alley ready to slip back into the normal bustle and crowd. Much to Albus and Oliver's surprise, there was already someone waiting there.


End file.
